The Super Bowl of horse racing goes this Saturday, with the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby taking center stage in the sports world. The Kentucky Derby is the first leg, and the crown jewel of the famously difficult Triple Crown, which includes the Belmont Stakes and the Preakness Stakes.
The festivities actually start on Friday May 2nd, with several big purses up for grabs (over $1 million) at the storied Churchill Downs track.
But Friday’s lineup is a just a “taster” to get everyone ready for a big $$$$ Saturday, highlighted by the biggest racing event in North America, the Kentucky Derby.
Looking at the Derby:
Big Brown, who drew post 20 for the race, has been installed as the odds-on favorite at 3-2. He warmed up for “The Run for the Roses” by shaking off a poor post position and winning the Florida Derby vs. quality competition by five lengths. Big Brown is undefeated, but only has three races to his name. BB has also been the early favorite in terms of betting volume from players at SPORTSBETTING.COM, as he’s grabbed 21% of the action.
Colonel John slots in after Big Brown as the second favorite, with odds of 7-2 on Thursday. John looked very impressive in his first place finish at the Santa Anita Derby on April 5 and has post position 10 in the Derby.
Pyro, the number three favorite, will saddle up in post position 9. Pyro captured top spot in the Louisiana Derby in early March, but finished in 10th spot at the Blue Grass in mid-April. Can you throw out the Blue Grass result? Will the real Pyro please stand up. He currently has odds of 5-1 on him.
The top three have clearly staked out their territory, in terms of odds, with the number four spot held by Gayego, at 12-1. We like this horse and he comes in to the Derby boasting a victory in the Arkansas Derby, a race with a reputation as one of the top Kentucky Derby prep runs (Afleet Alex, Curlin, Smarty Jones and Lawyer Ron all won it). Gayego has been impressive all year and this level of competition won’t scare him.
Longshot with a shot:
Z Fortune - Looked very good in the Arkansas Derby (coming in second to Gayego), a much-needed bounceback for him. Watch for this horse as he is a competitor. Currently sitting at 25-1.
As mentioned above, Friday night features the Kentucky Oaks race which is just as old as “The most exciting two minutes in sports”, so don’t miss the early racing action.
SPORTSBETTING.COM is celebrating the running of the Kentucky Derby by offering a 100% match bonus. It’s as simple as making a deposit anytime between now and noon (EST) on Saturday, May 3rd, the day of the Derby. Anyone who makes a wager of $50 or more on any Derby race over the Friday and Saturday lineup will receive their 100% match bonus on their deposit(s) (up to $100).
Enjoy the races.
